1979

25 years selling masks to the public.  Death Studios has been pouring rubber for a quarter century!  That is a looong time and Jeff Death has been at the helm since day one.  He has seen trends come and go, other mask companies rise and fall and gained a loyal following of mask fans buying the latest rubber creations out of his Indiana shop.

Jeff could have followed suit like alot of other large mask companies and chosen the high volume, reduced quality path of outsourcing his production in an attempt to nip at the pockets of the casual Halloweener that tosses out the mask November 1st.  But DS masks are not masks you throw out.  The quality makes every one a collectors piece and loyal fans are more than willing to pay a little more for a high quality paint job, thicker casting, better all around mask.  Jeff doesn't just run the show, he has a hand in producing nearly every mask that leaves his shop and with 25+ years of experience, you really can't miss.

There are quite a few talented independent mask artists out there producing creations for the latex loving community.  You would think this would pose a threat to Jeff's business.  Quite the contrary.  Jeff is single handedly responsible for the growth of many of these artists.  Most cut their teeth on Jeff's mask making video that has remained practical and chock full of knowledge over 15 years later.  Jeff is always just a phone call away with sage advice on technical matters.  He has helped out a number of artists get their business rolling and has trained some of the greats like Jordu Schell and Jeremy Bohr. 

So, where does DS go from here?  Hopefully, Jeff will be making masks long into the future.  Who doesn't get excited when Jeff announces his new lineup.  With his ability to attract world class sculptors, most collectors are like a kid in a candy store.  I would like to see DS live on for a very long time.

Some of Jeff's friends and fans wanted to give a word or two about what DS and Jeff has meant to them.  At the end, feel free to add you own sentiment!

I found Death Studios by accident a few years ago, that was the first time I had ever seen any independent studio made masks. At the time, I was completely blown away by the detail, and the designs of these masks. Didn't take long until I had ordered a few! And now some years later, with my knowledge of what goes into a mask, and how hard these great artists work, I'm even more impressed with the work Death Studios does, it's not hard at all to see why they've been around a quarter century. Congratulations Jeff and everyone at DS, here's to 25 more!   Travis Sallenbach

Where to begin? Jeff Keim is one of my best friends and I really don't know when it became that way. I met him for the first time in 1998. Paul Daniels was going out to see him at the studio and I really wanted to tag along. I had been e-mailing and calling Jeff off and on, asking tech questions and basically bugging him for about 6 months prior to our first meeting. He was always nice and answered my questions. Even so, I could tell he wasn't all that impressed with the pictures of the work I was sending him. "Do you want me to tell you the truth or what you want to hear?" He actually said that to me! It was the first time anyone had truly been honest with me about what I was doing  and it did sting a little. When Paul and I finally got to Jeff's I was in awe, I had never seen so many masks all in one place. They were everywhere! Its one thing to see a bunch of them in an ad but, its altogether different to see ALL of them in one place at one time in the flesh! There was so much history all over and the work of so many tremendous sculptors. I think I touched as many masks as I could get my hands on so if someone uses a mask bought in 99' to kill someone my fingerprints will be all over the murder weapon. After the grand tour Paul and I were ready to leave and Jeff says " Here take this, I'm tired of seeing pictures of you sculpting on all those messed up armatures" He handed both Paul and I our first REAL lifecasts to sculpt on. I always thought of that gesture of kindness as a small investment in me. I recently returned that armature to him. I'd like to think that its just waiting there to be given to someone else who needs a little bit of that magic to get them in the right direction. Happy 25th Jeff ! You've done more than you know. Jeremy Bohr

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